Zack Snyder was not new to significant box-office runs even before delving into the world of DC.

SUMMARY

While most of his big releases emerged from the DCEU, Zack Snyder did witness astounding success before his DC run.
Prior to Man of Steel, Snyder had three movies, outside DC, which made over $100M at the box office.

With the director no longer bound by the limitations of DC, Snyder is now freer than ever to pursue his passion projects at Netflix.

Since the early 2010s, Zack Snyder’s filmography has been mostly dictated by his DC releases, which despite not doing critically well, earned him a cult status and were commercially successful.

But that isn’t to say the polarizing director hasn’t landed success outside the realm of CBMs, as prior to joining the world of DC heroes, Snyder was already a prominent name in Hollywood.

And while his biggest commercial hits emerged from the DCEU, which is reasonable following the already built-in fanbase, 3 of his movies outside the DC bubble did make a splash at the box office.

The Three Zack Snyder Movies That Grossed Over $100M Apart From His DC Releases


Zack Snyder (@zacksnyder | Vero)

Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

Zack Snyder‘s debut release to this day remains his most universally acclaimed movie, which served as a precursor for his pretty distinct visual style. Like Michael Bay, Snyder succeeded in making the movie look expensive despite being made on a budget of $26M, thanks to his strong commercial instincts.

The remake also avoided falling into the usual Snyder pitfall, the writing department, thanks to a well-crafted script by James Gunn, which doesn’t fall much short of George Romero’s classic. Following its box-office run of over $102 Million, Snyder was allowed to get his passion project running.

Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

300 (2007)

Unlike most emerging directors in the horror landscape, who stuck to the genre in order to replicate their initial success, Zack Snyder, on the other hand, got his passion project, 300, running.

A panel-for-panel adaptation of Frank Miller’s novel, 300, for better or worse, revolutionized slow-mo like The Wachowskis did back with The Matrix, and remains Snyder’s most visually impressive outing.

While not his most acclaimed release, 300 is the closest we got to witnessing Greek sculptures engaging in precise action, which made a mammoth $456 Million and earned him the status of visionary.

300 (2007)

Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole (2010)

Interestingly, his most obscure release is also the most Zack Snyder movie out there. The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, his only animated release, witnesses several recurring tropes from Snyder’s other releases, including an army of face-less foes, the excessive use of slo-mo, the genetic purity stuff, etc.

This isn’t surprising as being an animated movie, Snyder had utmost control over every stage of its production.

It was also a far cry from his other edgy projects till that point, which one would expect from an adventure movie aimed at kids. But despite Snyder implementing his visual and narrative flair, The Owls was a box-office letdown, which made $140 Million.

Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole (2010)

With Zack Snyder no longer bound by the confinements of the DC universe, the director has ushered into a new chapter in his filmography with more creative freedom than ever at Netflix.